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Kendrick Lamar brings his political message to college football championship

Posted: 4:29 AM, Jan 09, 2018

Updated:2018-01-09 11:29:30Z

By:
CNN

Kendrick Lamar brought his pointed political message to the CFP National Championship halftime show on Monday night, but if fans were hoping to see President Donald Trump's reaction to the performance, they were disappointed.

Trump attended the CFB National Championship
and stood on the field
for the National Anthem ahead of the face-off between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs. It is unclear whether Trump saw any of Lamar's performance -- he left at half time -- but by attending the event in Atlanta, the President took a chance that he would be sitting through a show with an anti-Trump message.

Lamar, who often takes Trump to task in his lyrics, is outspoken on issues of social justice.

Trump and Lamar were not at the same venue, but the Grammy-winning rapper's performance was projected onto the big screens during the halftime show. The game was held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and Lamar performed live at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park.

While the rapper did not deliver a direct political message to Trump on Monday, his political lyrics are not lost on his fans.

The rapper performed a medley of top hits from his critically acclaimed 2017 album "DAMN," busting out bars to "DNA."
and "Element"
-- songs that explore his black heritage and his culture -- and then he dove into a high-powered performance of the Grammy-nominated track "Humble," which includes a shout-out
to former President Barack Obama.

Lamar has been an outspoken supporter of former San Francisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick, who rose to national prominence after taking a knee during the National Anthem to protest systemic racism and police brutality.

Trump urged NFL owners to fire players who protest in September and has insisted that they should stand for the anthem to show respect for the nation and the flag -- a point he reiterated earlier Monday during a speech at the American Farm Bureau in Nashville.

The California rapper concluded his performance with a highly-anticipated performance of "All Stars," his new single featuring SZA, which is on the Lamar-produced soundtrack
to Marvel Studios' "Black Panther" film.